Then how are the Spurs winning!??! They generate the lowest finals ratings. If it was really rigged, we would have had a lakers-heat or a lakers-cavs final because a Kobe vs Lebron matchup would bring in so many more casual viewers.

They tried, man, they tried. Remember when Joey Crawford threw out Tim Duncan for laughing while Timmy was sitting on the bench?

That was a TRIAL RUN ordered by Stern. The goal was to see if there would be any national outcry over arbitrarily ejecting Spurs players. Had sports fans been apathetic to the ejection then they would have commenced OPERATION EJECTION. Anytime the Spurs would have built a lead they would eject one of their players from the game.

oh no doubt that game 6 call was shady as fuck. basically ref blew the whistle on marquis before ATL inbounded the ball, which should have been freethrows AND the ball, but they just gave them freethrows. it seemed like the refs just completely didn't realize what they were doing making the call and then had to bluff their way out of it.

He hates his personality and he hates the fact that he went to join D.Wade rather than lead a team like MJ or Bird would have done.

And, yes, he hates the Heat because they run counter to his vision of what a basketball team should be - a collection of guys who build chemistry and win together rather than a few superstars plus scrubs.

But why do they? A high school ref would call someone getting hit in the face and there are only two refs there. The NBA refs should be the best refs in the entire world and it does not feel that way this postseason.

High school is NOTHING like NBA. The truth is that everyone is constantly getting fouled in the NBA. You play tough and you get hit nonstop, if they called an NBA game like they did a High School game every single player would foul out in the first quarter.

That sort of reminds me of a certain OKC player elbowing Steven Jackson in the face and Joey FUCKING Crawford waiving the foul off even though it was right in front of him before a guy on the other side of the court called it anyway.

Now I e'nt saying there's some conspiracy here, since OKC is a smaller market than SA, but...the reffing in this league sucks, is what I'm saying. It sucks ass.

Alright, the game moves at a very fast pace and a referee is not going to make a call they aren't absolutely sure about that goes against the home team and a superstar.

It's really shitty but there's no form of accountability. I feel like in other leagues referees are much more transparent. MLB umps will apologize for blown calls. NFL refs are often very candid about why they call things the way they did. There's nothing like that in the NBA.

Plus the foul system is confusing. Isn't contact to the head supposed to automatically be a flagrant? That gets ignored all the time. Whats the different between flagrants and technicals on some calls? The whole system is a mess from top to bottom.

Isn't contact to the head supposed to automatically be a flagrant? That gets ignored all the time.

No, I have no idea where you heard this, but it's not correct at all.

The standards for flagrant fouls are very clearly defined, not sure what your problem with them is.

A flagrant foul 1 is unnecessary contact. This is usually when a defensive player winds-up and makes hard contact with the offensive player or makes hard contact and then follows through. A flagrant foul 2 has the components of a flagrant foul 1 and is unnecessary and excessive contact. This usually has a wind-up motion, hard contact and a follow through.

When you can bet on spreads in Vegas and they have already done it before unofficially, it's hard to give any ref credit. Especially the way they conduct themselves these days. Also how refs make emotional calls and decide whether or not to fuck a team over if they like they owner? The refs in the NBA are terrible.

While we all know about Donaghy, I find it hard to believe refs would rig the games like this because if they're gambling it's too their advantage to extend the series (and bet on the underdog). And if it's for the league, they would also want 7 games.

You want rigging? If the Celtics win the next 3 in a row and then collapse and lose in 7 that would smell more like rigging to me.

I do think refs are very influenced by who they like. And that's a problem. I actually made a comment to a friend earlier in the season that I think from the second round on ref selection should be like juror selection. The opposing teams should mutually agree on a crew of 3 refs, that would make all of this moot. Can't be mad at the refs you chose.

I don't think that games are rigged to the point that Stern will tell the refs which team should win and which should lose. I do believe the reason that the NBA has done absolutely nothing about the officiating is because Stern knows the biases of the refs and feels he can affect the outcome of the game. Joey Crawford still refs Spurs games even after he challenged Duncan to a fight during the game.

I also think part of the issue is that they're just in denial about what's going on. Kind of like when people are sick but refuse to go to the doctor and whatever issue they have keeps getting worse and worse since it's being ignored.

That might be what he was tweeting but I have no idea. I think there is a problem with the officiating but what can be done? It isn't an easy job. I do think they should be reviewed and fined/suspended/fired if they are consistently shitty. I also think the league needs to make some changes to make it less strict. There shouldn't be a foul every time someone drives to the basket, no one wants to see that shit.

The "Wade kicks KG" argument is TERRIBLE. Watch the replay while it is up on youtube. 29 seconds in. KG is fouling Wade with both hands before any contact is made by Wade. Wade then extends his leg. There was ONE (HUGE) missed call at this end of this game. That is not a conspiracy.

Well - when a teams strategy is to foul every time the opponent touches the ball and dare the refs to call every foul, while the other team commits very few fouls - this is what is going to happen.

The Celtics announced to the world before the game that they were going to foul the shit out of the Heat - put them on the floor - play physical - What do you think this means?

The first quarter especially was full of Celtics fouls that weren't called, they committed 2-4 fouls every Miami possession. It was there game plan for God's sakes - do people not understand the NBA teams purposefully go into games with the strategy to foul and foul and foul and to dare the refs to call them all? The Pacers coaches admitted that this was their defensive strategy last year.

He, like every other rational, intelligent fan, will realize that is total bullshit. The refs are not biased toward or against any team. There will be bad calls in a game because refs are human and the NBA is played at an incredibly fast pace which makes reffing very difficult. If you truly feel that bad calls are ruining the NBA, then you just intentionally going out of your way to notice the negatives.

I agree that Simmons is overreacting here. Everyone knows he's a Boston fan, that he gets blinded with anything and everything Celtics.

But your two points of refs not being biased and being human can be contradictory. I think they are biased precisely because they are human. They get mad at players, coaches, and they can be as vindictive and as emotional as the players themselves. I agree that there will be bad calls regardless of all that, but I think refs can make (and have made) biased calls. They are aware of what's being said about them by the media/press and they are in regular contact with NBA HQ who regularly give them feedback.

The conspiracy theorists who are claiming that the NBA is rigged or that refs are purposely screwing over games in favor of one team, obviously need to provide more proof or move on.

I'm like 3 angry comments away from writing a whole post attacking the stupid portion of /r/nba for incessant whining about refs/tanking/flopping/following stupid media narratives/complaints about the league being rigged.

Celtics gave a 118.2 defensive effienceny (hint: That's bad), but I'm sure it was the refs who are really at fault.
Yeah sure, Lebron and Wade are the only star players who ever whine about calls and the Decision ruined the league and other bullshit.

The kicker too, is that JVG was the one who really started the ball rolling on all this. His whining about flops, techs, and so forth really seemed to be the green light for people to incessantly harp on refs and make it OK for people to blame everyone but their own team when they lose. I used to do it myself, but I was a shitty sports fan back then.

I think the balance was a bit too much in Miami's favour in the early part of the first quarter but then it started evening out. Boston got just as many shady calls as Miami so there really isn't much to complain about. I think the biggest issue is that a call that should have been made (Wade on Rondo's head) really ended the game. Any other point in the game if that call is missed nobody would remember it.

I was pretty conflicted about that one as well. On one hand you have a guy who was "the guy" for 11 championships and probably would be the career leader in blocked shots had the NBA kept track of the stat, while on the other hand you have pretty much the greatest scoring big and the definition of sustained excellence ever in the league, not to mention grabbing a plethora of individual accolades and 6 championships...

Bill Simmons is wrong, straight up. It wasn't particularly well officiated (the Rondo non-call especially) but you can never trust what he says about Celtics games. Didn't see him bitching this much when the Hawks got fucked in the first round.

Exactly. He makes a lot of good points, but when he talks about any Boston team his logic goes out the window. When they get the benefit of the doubt he doesn't tweet at all, when they get screwed he cries NBA conspiracy.

Except that his point isn't "the referees clearly favor any team that plays Boston", his point is "the referees favor whatever team is going to be the ratings-grabber". Boston/Miami is a way sexier matchup than Atlanta/Miami so the bad officiating in that game actually supports his theory.

By that logic I'd imagine the refs would have sided, or will eventually side, with the Celtics to extend the series. As much as I love Miami sports, I'm pretty sure that Boston is the bigger market and better draw -- and I'm positive that it's not certain enough to risk a scandal to have one team over the other.

Hardcore NBA fans fail to realize that big markets will always mean bigger ratings and therefore more money for the NBA. We hardcore fans are going to watch no matter who is playing, but the casual fans will only watch if "their team" is playing. I'd bet good money that there are more people who consider the Lakers or the Knicks "their team" than OKC and SAS combined.

no it's not. It may be what your typical NBA fan wants to see, but the NBA really isn't interested in attracting that fan, he will watch regardless. The NBA needs big market teams to market, to draw in your mom, your sister, the guy who only watches the superbowl etc.

That's true, my dad was a big time NBA fan when we lived in the U.S. in the 90s but he doesn't really watch it anymore because of all the free throws and not enough team play but when I told him that San Antonio and OKC were facing each other in the WCF he just laughed and asked who the hell OKC were.

The Spurs only win when they're super dominant. Everytime I've seen them go far, they typically have some of the worst officiating and just win anyway. I am of course biased, but I think many would agree it's plain to see.

Look at how much the refs allowed them to get beat up by the grizz last year. When they get rid of the Spurs the way they want to, you'll never even know they made the playoffs.

I don't know if it was officiated poorly, calls swaying the game... but, the league has become something quite disinteresting. Superstars depend on getting their points from the line and as a fan of the game; I would rather watch Lebron James do something amazing to get the ball in the hole than score at the line. Seriously, we potentially have one of the greatest athletes the sport has ever known, entering his prime and what does he do to win the playoff game? Shoot 7-20, scoring 16. He made 18 freebies out of 24 tries.

Sure, plenty were called for, but I think the problem for me is that if a player scores 34... I want to see more than 7 made baskets. All players go for the foul line, it's trained into them, the rules have determined that that is the most efficient way to score. No fault on them, but I would rather see some made field goals from the best athlete.

ps. Blazer fan, so all I got is gripe and memories of a clutch player.

Also. Didn't Boston say they were basically just going to turn up the level of physicality in the game. the heat are better, so Boston had to compensate by fouling. That's why there was such a huge disparity. Whenever the heat would drive, they would just get hammered.

Can you trust any Boston fan? Hell, I grew up in New England as a die hard Patriots/Red Sox fan (hell, still am; wasn't an NBA fan til the beginning of this season and took on my, for all intents and purposes, "NBA hometown" team - the Hawks) and even I knew never to listen to a Boston fan after a game. They're the worst!

Can you trust any [insert town] fan? Hell, I grew up in [hometown] as a die hard [popular hometown team] fan (wasn't an [really recent event] fan til the beginning of this season) and even I knew never to listen to a [Hometown] fan after a game. They're the worst!

Sorry it's mean but this is just kinda how I read this.

People are bad everywhere about their local heroes when shit doesn't go well IMO

I don't have a team, but I love the NBA, and I do not understand why all these "fans" think the league is rigged. If you really believe that, then why do you still watch? If I actually believed a sporting event was not played fairly, I would stop watching that sport.

I don't think the NBA is rigged but the NBA has a monopoly on Basketball in the States. Level of competition is extraordinarily high and the game is beautiful to watch at this level. Compare the NBA with the atrociousness of NCAA basketball...no contest in my book.

Compare the NBA with the atrociousness of NCAA basketball...no contest in my book.

Agreed. I really try to get into College Basketball, especially this past year with the lockout and all, but man most of the games I saw were absolutely boring, full of missed layups and really sloppy play.

The one-and-done rule really killed college basketball. On the one hand, there's an interesting tension because the smaller schools have the advantage of teams that have been together longer, but major programs have more talent. But on the other hand, the level of play is way down now that almost all the NBA prospects are freshmen.

Another issue I have with NCAA ball is that the three-point line is too close. Standing back and chucking threes can be a winning strategy, and I don't want to watch that.

I attribute the bad officiating to bad officiating, not to star treatment. The no call on Wade hitting Rondo was terrible, but it's not like Rondo's never gotten away with no-calls: Bulls vs. Celtics 2009, Rondo had 3 "steals" which were just slapping ballhandler's elbow from behind, dragged Brad Miller to the ground on a "box-out", and murdered Brad Miller by swinging straight for his face, not unlike Haslem's foul against Hansborough. This is not an excuse for tonights bad officiating. I'm just saying its just terrible refs and not necessarily purely favoritism. The refs gave Rondo two 3 pointers that were 2 points tonight (only 1 of them was reverted to a 2)

I think a big part of Lebron's lack of fouling is how he NEVER goes up on shot fakes. Ever. Sometimes he'll close out and just stop right in front of the defender. Sometimes he won't even put a hand up, he'll just stand there, inches from the shooter. It looks really weird because no one else does it but it works all the time because the defender is waiting for a hand in his face and it never comes.

The other thing is he never gets beat by a driver. He's too fast, so he always keeps position. Also, few players even try to drive on him anymore. Between not stupidly going up and fouling shooters and staying in front of drivers, how else should he be fouling these guys?

As a complete neutral (strong, but equal, dislike of both teams) I have to feel sorry for Celtics fans everywhere. You just can't win games, much less series, when the officiating is as bad as games 1 and 2.

I think the problem is more pervasive than just this series. The officiating has been horrendous for, literally, years. Games, series, seasons, and championships have been decided by the ref's [poor] calls quite consistently. It is absurd and unbecoming for the league.

I don't know where the accountability is. Why are players and coaches being hit with significant fines for speaking out against the officiating when THE. OFFICIATING. FUCKING. SUCKS.

the fact that whether wade kicked first or garnett fouled first can STILL be contested after watching zoomed in high definition video footage 20 times should tell you how difficult the "blatant miscalls" are to evaluate. get over it.
edit:typo

no you see bad calls by the ref are clearly due to a carefully planned and executed conspiracy. it can't possibly be that basketball is a very fast game and the refs have to make several split second decisions when the difference between a foul and a no-foul is often literally a matter of inches.

Seriously, they were driving the lane putting up contested shots and trying to draw contact. There was a point that it seemed like a terrible plan. And then fouls mounted up, and FT's as well. Shocking.

Pierce not being careful and fouling out didn't help, either. I think it's silly to chalk it up to the officiating when you consider things like that, or Garnett having a couple of bad plays right at the end.

Simmons is a biased homer blah blah...shut up. Not the problem at all. Not even close. NBA officiating is by far the worst of any professional sport (other than sports entertainment) and worse than baseball which says a lot. This should be the focus of any discussion regarding what's wrong with the NBA. Not a writer's opinion. (even though he is correct).

I like Simmons but hate when he brings shit like this up when Boston are playing because you're exactly right. It's pretty easy to dismiss the argument about the officiating being terrible when you can just say "Simmons is just a butthurt homer".

I tried reffing b ball before. It's pretty tough to get every single call and everyone only remembers the call you don't make. Refs don't see what you see on tv w replays and slow mo. They see full speed and don't see every graze or nudge. It's a tough job to be good at. No one remembers a good ref, but everyone remembers a bad one.

This is what I hate the most about really close games : the constant time outs and the possibility of a close call happening like the Rondo / Wade play. I just don't like the constant conversations talking about what could have been. For Boston to win, they need to make their shots count (which they did for the most part) and make better decisions in the closing moments (Really KG? Passing to Bass in the paint and under the basket?).

To be honest every game with the heat always seems to have a slight bias in their favor . Calling the game fixed is a huge exaggeration though. You cant let lebron or wade get into foul trouble. Same thing with other superstars it's like one of the unwritten rules of the game. Refs officiated horribly though last nigh

Here's one for you. Keep my flair in mind too. I have the 94 finals on dvd and I've analyzed the shit out of them. The league DID try to get the knicks to win that year. They got horribly outplayed (and especially outcoached) and the refs helped a lot. They just couldn't win, even with the help. I'm a basketball fan first, Knicks second. The Heat do get their unfair share of bullshit calls.

I'm not saying it should be 1 and 1 going to Boston. I'm not discounting the fact that Boston needed a couple rebounds to win the game. It was a close game, but I feel we weren't beaten as much as it was taken from us by the referees.

but I feel we weren't beaten as much as it was taken from us by the referees.

Because of the Rondo call? Game was tied at that point, and the next two possessions were 1. Awful turnover by KG and 2. Terrible, offbalance three pointer by KG. And those were 'out of timeout' plays.

Meanwhile Miami scored on their last 6 possessions. I missed a stretch of this game, but Miami was easily the better team in the overtime.

It wasn't as blatant as the T's in the first half of game 1, but I was definitely a little disappointed by the officiating (disclaimer: I'm a C's fan). Seeing the replay of D Wade dropkick KG (possibly to create space before KG grabbed his arm) was kind of annoying

Hey. I'm a fan whose team is on the receiving end of the murder of your players. We're pretty low down on the food chain, but that's cool, because as long as you ain't #1/#2/#3/#4, you ain't winnin' a championship.

I stopped hating the heat when the irrational hate train came our way, I almost feel a kinship with the Heat fans as I now I know how it feels to get uninformed hate constantly piled on you. I hope the Heat win just to shut up the haters and so we can have discussions about Lebron without the lack of rings being brought up. Then again that isn't going to stop me from hating on the Lakers, because fuck them right.

The average number of FT of the Pacers series was 27 for the Heat and 24.8 for the Pacers. Many of those fouls were intentional fouls on Wade or LeBron as they drove to the basket. Because of their style of play I see no problem with the Heat getting on average one extra trip to the free throw line per game. If anything there should have been an even greater free throw disparity if calls were made completely objectively. I'm so tired of people saying that the Heat don't deserve their wins or that they were gifted them with trips to the free throw line because this is easily disproved if you go back and look at the numbers. The Heat won the Pacers series without any help from the charity stripe.

I just skimmed through hundreds of comments to find this. NOBODY thought there was a foul until the replay. Wade barely scrapes the top of Rondo's head. Rondo's head never snapped back at all, it kept moving in the direction it should have, so it was very hard to see. If /r/NBA is going to keep harping on the officiating I'm moving to /r/soccer.

It is upsetting to watch. Then Wade goes down and gets the call when he's actually kicking Garnett in the leg at the same time.

All of this after the broadcasters are discussing how little Wade gets called for fouls, while still voraciously defending people. Then Van Gundy does what he does best and cuts through the bullshit and says the other 29 teams would have a bone to pick about that.